Life Observed

The same rain that launched this flower from the succulent sward surrounding it has also brought the harvest to a halt. The ripe golden wheat that still stands in the fields is now dripping wet.  It will shed water for a week or so but eventually it will blacken and start to sprout on the ear and become worthless If you ask a farmer about the summer you will just get a low groan.

They say the first thing a smith has to learn is how to make a nail. You should be able to turn out a nail from heated iron bar in a minute or two. So here we find the door to Upwey church completely covered in hand made nails. A job for the apprentice perhaps?

Here's a high key picture.  This splendid bloom is presented against a white background to captivate and impress.  This is not a studio picture, I found the subject in a garden we visited. In fact the method I used was to photograph the flower from below and I used the grey sky as a backdrop.  Suitable application of exposure compensation pushes the entire image towards white and gives it the high key look.

Upwey is a little village inland from Weymouth.  Weymouth is where the river Wey meets the sea, and Upwey is where the river Wey leaps fully formed from the ground at the foot of chalk downland. I suppose that makes it a spring line village. See: A free Geography lesson.

Something with classical overtones and very pleasing symmetry: The iron hand rails are particularly well presented. This is Kingston Maurward house in Dorset. A Georgian pile built by a Pitt, but now used as an agricultural college.  The gardens are most pleasing and it is well worth a visit but it is, alas, not a National Trust property.

I think this is not a bad deal. Ten for twenty quid. I bet that will get snapped up quickly.

When they described the Merlot as light , I had not expected this sort of thing.  In fact I found it all rather worrying and I couldn't sleep. Fortunately we had some of these in the cupboard. Soon all was well.

Here is a little bonus that I spotted in an antiques salvage yard in Hungerford. You need to visit these places because there are all sorts of unexpected items waiting to be discovered.  In this case I was very pleased to find these. Look: A matching pair of ornate glass Victorian satellite dishes.

Here's a reason to become a scientist:  You get to wear a white coat and look at fantastic stuff like this. No wonder they spend all day looking down the microscope.

Beware! A combination of global warming and frozen interest rates has led to a terrible new variation in cold confectionery. Hiding behind walls along the south coast enormous mutant ice cream cones lie in wait with their huge chocolate sting. Your chances of survival are wafer thin, they are lethal in 99 percent of all cases. The only warning of an attack you will get is an unexpected high scream. As you can see, this family were lucky to escape with their lives.

Top tip: You can save money by getting NHS glasses. Even so, I still put mine down and I can't find them ten minutes later. What's a person to do?